A Sacrifice to Cover our Greatest Need

"If out greatest need had been information God would have sent an educator. If technology, a scientist. If money, an economist. If pleasure, an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Saviour, Jesus."

          May this Christmas season be a vivid reminder of the immense love Christ had for us, even while we were stubbornly continuing in sin, that He would die in our place so those who accept His gift might see Him in Glory!

Update from the Field

The following report, by Mike, one of our team, explains some of the ministry opportunities God has provided here in Sudan. He has been working in terrific and numerous ways; what a privilege to see His plans unfold!

Kajo Keji

After an epic 8000km overland journey across eight countries, we were warmly welcomed to Kajo Keji by the very friendly and down-to-earth Bishop Anthony and his staff. We had a very effective and appreciated time of ministry in Kajo Keji Diocese.

Evangelism Workshop

We had a week of Evangelism Workshops everyday from 08h30 to 16h30 from Tuesday to Saturday focusing on Evangelism and Discipleship. Some of the topics that we dealt with were: A Biblical Vision of Victory, Abiding in Christ, The Greatness of the Great Commission, Principles for Soul Winning, The Greatest Book, The Ten Commandments, Evangelism Explosion, The Way of the Master, The Challenge of Islam, Comparing the Bible with the Quran, Gold Nuggets for Evangelizing Muslims, The Uniqueness of Jesus in the Quran, The Lordship of Christ in All Areas of Life, Missions 9 Ways, The Power of Prayer, Understanding Humanism and The Heart of the Gospel.

Libraries for Pastors

Each day we distributed specific books to the participants according to the topic we were dealing with. The book, Faith Under Fire in Sudan was particularly well received with expressions of honour and gratitude.

Film Ministry

Every evening we showed a film for the participants. Some of the films we showed included: True and False Conversions, The Biggest Question, More than Dreams, Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust, 3 Days in Sudan, and The Way of the Master: London. It was truly a great experience to watch the participants watch the DVD, Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust. There was a constant hum of excited chatter and comments throughout the film as participants were recognizing faces and places, and at times in horror remembering the suffering of the past. This was undoubtedly the most appreciated film.

Sunday Services

On Sunday each of our team members had an opportunity to minister at a different congregation for Sunday morning Worship services.

Personal Evangelism

During the week, after each day of lectures, the participants had the opportunity to go into the local area amongst the villages and do personal evangelism. They returned with joyous reports of villagers who had trusted in Christ.

Prison Ministry

During the week we had opportunities to minister at the local prison and police station where we had the opportunity to share the Gospel with the prisoners and saw many trust in Christ.

School Ministry

We also ministered at the local Primary and Secondary School where all the students took refuge from the blazing heat of the sun under the shade of a large tree and we had the opportunity to clearly share the Gospel with these enthusiastic kids.

Bible College

We had the privilege ministering to students of a Bible College. We shared with them about Evangelizing Muslims.

Military Mission

We had the privilege of going to the SPLA barracks to share the Gospel with the soldiers. After seeing the taking down of the flag by a military officer, I was able to show the soldiers, and their wives and children, how their flag has the Gospel in it. The black on top speaks of how our hearts were dark with sin; the red in the middle shows how the Blood of Christ cleanses us and purifies us of sin; the white lines speak of how our hearts can be white as snow; the green shows us that we must grow in Grace, reading our Bibles, fellowshipping with other believers and praying; the royal blue shows us that we are now sons of the King; and the gold star shows us that we will be in Heaven one day forever.

Gratitude

As we left Kajo Kaji many participants reported how they had been extremely blessed by our coming and that they had learned much from the lectures and pleaded with us to come again. They thanked Frontline Fellowship deeply for the literature and books that we had distributed among them.

Lui

In Lui we were warmly welcomed by the friendly and down-to-earth Bishop Stephen and his pastors. We were hosted at the old Samaritans Purse doctors' compound.

Evangelism Workshop

We had an effective and appreciated week of ministry at the Lui Diocese beginning with taking the morning devotions at the Lui Hospital for the staff and patients. We held an Evangelism Workshop in the Frazer Cathederal having 22 pastors, leaders, and evangelists attend the workshops. Some of the topics we dealt with included The Greatness of the Great Commission, The Heart of the Gospel, The Greatest Book, The Way of the Master, Evangelism Explosion, The Ten Commandments, The Lordship of Christ in All Areas, Patterns for Soul Winning, Principles of Soul Winning, One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven, Missions in the Bible, The Power of Prayer, Africa's Greatest Need: Discipleship, The Challenge of Islam, and Comparing the Bible with the Quran.

Market Place Evangelism

We also gave the participants the opportunity to put into practice what they had been learning by going out into the market place to do personal evangelism.

Logistics

We were able to help the Diocese practically by driving to a remote village to collect food items that were a donation for the Synod meeting in Juba. The Diocese does not have a working vehicle. The Land Rover is dilapidated and irrestorable and the truck is heading for a similar condition, but there is still hope for it. They are struggling to get spares for their vehicles. Although the vehicle may have been parked off for a minor problem, because of the delay in repairing it, other deterioration sets in and eventually it is a total wreck.

Hospital Ministry

We spent a long time discussing with one of the doctors at the Lui Hospital about some of the challenges they are facing. The hospital is desperately short of staff. Since Samaritan's Purse left in 2007 the hospital has taken a serious turn for the worse. The nursing school which Samaritan's Purse left behind is vacant and 'crying out' for someone to use it. The hospital is 'crying out' for nurses and doctors. The patients are unable to be sufficiently assisted due to a shortage of nurses. Some critical operations have to be postponed because there are no nurses to assist the doctor in theatre. The X-ray machine is in a steel shipping container which is unsafe. The list goes on. Lui Hospital is in desperate need of help.

Film Ministry

We also had the opportunity to show certain films at night in the Frazer Cathederal which included Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust, The Biggest Question, and The Jesus Film in Arabic. Each night hundreds gathered to watch these films.

Mundri

We arrived in Mundri and muddy road. It had been raining the whole day so the road was very slippery and somewhat difficult to navigate around the huge potholes especially with the trailer which is still quite full of books and literature. I had to drive extra carefully with the trailer because the suspension needed repair having broken last week on our way to Lui. The folk at Lui assured us that we will be able to find a welding machine in Mundri.

Warm Welcome

We were well-received by Bishop Bismark and by the Director of the Teacher Training College. We were hosted at the Bishop's compound. The following morning we met a very bright, happy, and intelligent man, Canon Kenneth Baringwa. He had spent much time with Dr. Peter Hammond during the war. He fondly recounted many stories of how Frontline Fellowship had helped the Moru people. He also took us to the ECS guesthouse where we have been hosted in traditional African style 'tukuls' (grass huts).

Training at the Bible College

We have been able to do an intensive Evangelism Training Workshop at the Bishop Ngalama Bible College (which is in the same premises that Frontline renovated for the Christian Liberty High School). The topics that we were able to cover included The Greatness of the Great Commission, Patterns for Soul Winning, Principles of Soul Winning, Evangelism Explosion Gospel presentation, Missions in the Bible, The Way of the Master, The Ten Commandments, Excuses for not Witnessing, The Lordship of Christ in all Areas of Life, The Power of Prayer, Rediscovering the Christian Work Ethic. Both Hunter and Daniel have certainly been carrying a fair share of the ministry responsibilities.

Kotobi

We have also been able to visit the Kotobi Institute for Teachers' Education (KITE). The principal at KITE is a very ambitious and well organized man. I believe the College is in good hands. We had a lengthy and profitable conversation with him. We were given an in-depth overview of the history, objectives, and challenges of KITE which included how Dr. Peter Hammond had visited them during the war years under the shade of mango trees bringing Training, textbooks and other materials for their teachers and encouraging them. We were also taken on a tour of the College and were shown the newly built KITE Community Library which is well taken care of and in desperate need of more books. We were able to add to their shelves.

Teaching Teachers

We had a great opportunity to share the Gospel clearly and effectively with 91 teachers and education officials from the South Sudan Department of Education who were at a closing Ceremony of a Teachers Seminar that the state department had been running at KITE. I was given about 30 minutes to address them and the message of the Gospel was cheerfully and well received. We also gave each one The Doctor Comes to Lui book which they received with much gladness and many of them went immediately to the shade of a nearby mango tree to start reading their new book.

We were also able to donate 70 copies of Christian Teachers' Training Manuel and many useful and helpful DVDs and MP3 discs which were received with much gratitude and appreciation.

Books for Libraries

We have had the privilege of stocking three community libraries and also enriching many personal libraries with many valuable Gospel books and Christian literature. We have donated more than 150 books to Mundri Community Library which is in the town Centre, we have also donated many books to Canon Ezra Lawairi Library at Bishop Ngalama Bible College, and also the KITE Community Library. Some 44 book titles that have been able to be donated include Faith Under Fire in Sudan, Practical Discipleship, Discipleship Handbook, Biblical Principles for Africa, The Ten Commandments, Slavery, Terrorism and Islam, The Doctor Comes to Lui, Putting Feet to Your Faith, The Battle for Truth, and many more.

Meeting the Leaders

Canon Kenneth Baringwa took us to meet the Commissioner of Mundri at his office. We were warmly welcomed and he insisted that Dr. Peter Hammond and any Frontline Fellowship Mission team is always welcome in Mundri. When we met the ex-commissioner who is now the Chairperson of the SPLM, he said "Peter Hammond is our blood brother; he was here with us while our blood was flowing", another person said, "Peter Hammond is a true friend; someone who is a friend during the hard times is truly a friend."

I had a great opportunity to talk to these leaders of Mundri and to encourage them to build this new country on Biblical principles. Praise God these leaders already have a strong desire to see this county established and founded on the Bible through prayer and action.

I was able to pray for the Commissioner in his office, committing his leadership to the Lord and asking for God's wisdom to lead this office and it's staff.

Sunday Worship Services

Our team split up for worship on Sunday. I preached at the Cathedral at the English service, Daniel preached at a very rural church which was accessed by some serious bundu-bashing, and Hunter preached at Milakalaga Parish.

Film Evangelism

We have been amazed at the turnout of people to the film shows each night. Some nights there are as many as 1000 people gathered to watch. We have shown the Jesus film in some locations and also the Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust. I'm not sure which was most favourite of the two, but there has been such excitement about both films and our team has diligently taken advantage of the opportunity to share the Gospel message to the many who gather around our film equipment.

Celebrating Jesus

I have been encouraged by the way the Moru people have responded to the Jesus film. They shout with joy and the ladies jubilate in the traditional African way when the see the Risen Lord Jesus appear to His disciples for the first time after His death and burial. Each time we've shown this film at different locations, we get the same shout of praise and spontaneous applause when it comes to this point in the film. 

Tonight we are showing the film Pilgrim's Progress for the first time. The people seem to be watching in an excited sense of intrigue at this classic presentation of the adventure of discipleship.

The Team

The team morale is still good and we are now working together as a well-oiled, fine-tuned machine. Our overall health is still relatively good. Daniel, however, is showing the first signs and symptoms of malaria. I have started him on a course of Coartem, so please pray for his recovery.

Thank you for all your prayers and support which makes it possible for us to serve the people of the newly liberated South Sudan.

Status on Sudan Trip

“Africa, oh Africa, the Lord your God has risen upon thee!”

Greenery and Scenery

          Our team has been gone now for just over two weeks, encountering such breathtaking beauty and gaining new exposures throughout the land of Africa. After heading up to Pretoria for a few days to attain visas and sort out our final preparation, we headed across the border of Zimbabwe where we encountered such amazing views; from electric storms each afternoon, to the rugged rock structures and wild cloud formations. The mixture of lush greenness, winding mountains, and rugged valleys was breathtaking! On our journey northward, as my dad well described in recent update, we had some really neat ministry opportunity, and Hunter (22 yrs) has made and printed tracts for us to hand out along the way, which has led to several fruitful discussions. In addition, just within the first few days out of the country, we saw a tremendous amount of wildlife such as buck, hippos, birds of all sorts, monkeys, long horned cattle competing with us for their road rights, and even a wild bore. We continued through Zambia, Tanzania, currently in Uganda.

On the Shores of Lake Victoria

          One of the nights in Tanzania, we had to sleep on the side of the road in a mountain pass, from which we had a view of the wide stretching Tanzania expanse and a beautiful sunset. Hiked down with a couple of the locals who were heading into the valley to fetch honey from a hive there. I hadn’t put much thought into views being more stunning than Zimbabwe’s rugged terrain, yet again found several of my breaths stolen away as the land changed a full set of colors into a new unique array as the sun found its rest beyond the horizon. We found that Tanzania had little desire of wasting paint, and thus, kept road lines to a minimum. While getting some fixes on the vehicle, Hunter and I had a great chat to a Muslim about the Bible compared to his preconception of it. He was very open to hearing, and we opened up the Bible to show him what its verses actually said. Then last night we camped on the shores of Lake Victoria, the eye of Africa, with front row seats to a dark golden moon rising from among the clouds and a developing thunderstorm across the lake. We woke up this morning amongst a raging storm and, after a quick swim in the lake, packed up gear and continued on.

Kampala!

          Then we said our farewells to Tanzania and headed into Uganda. As is the northern part of Tanzania, the scenery is unbelievably green and lush! We hit Kampala tonight and had a hysterical zigzag of chaos on the way in. Lanes weren't even a thought as motorbikes whizzed in and out of vehicles holding to the single law of the road: "Bigger bumper beats all." On several occasions we were cut off by a trucker coming the opposite direction, overtaking a biker or another truck in our presumed lane. And one of the bikers, trying to squeeze through two large trucks, actually breathed in and straightened his back as he made himself more worthy to fit through. And this is all normal and accepted; very rarely did we actually hear a horn. We suspected that the traffic lights would have been stoned to death within a few hours of construction, and for the couple we did see, the only rule was that if there was a red light in your direction, you merely had to honk before proceeding. All this was watched and approved by a single police, standing in the middle of the road...what a city!

Interests of Prayer

          We will be crossing into South Sudan shortly and starting our courses and camps with the folk there. God has been so evident throughout the duration of this mission and we pray that we will continue to follow His guidance as He shows us what we are to do and say. Praise God for His mighty work for allowing such harlots as ourselves to take part in this mission. Praise Him that we aren't the ones who can change a man, but rather God in us; for if it were left up to blind to lead the blind, we would be an entirety of a lost world. Praise Him for His sacrifice and salvation which can cover sin, with which is the only way to present ourselves holy sacrifices. Please pray for the soon approaching courses, for the final preparation and review of lecture notes and sermons. Pray that the Lord will speak His mighty Word through us vessels, and that in the experience we ourselves will become more broken and more chipped away; that God would make us merely windows through which He is seen. Pray that God will do a mighty work in South Sudan, that the people will grow in fear and reverence toward the Almighty; then being spurred on to a deeper relationship and love for Christ, will go into their surroundings and continue spreading the Word of Life, the Gospel of Salvation. May His Name dwell in the land!

          Col. 3:1-3 - Therefore since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

"Just A Weaver"

My life is but a weaving,

between my God and me,

I do not choose the colors,

He worketh steadily. 

Ofttimes he weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside. Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly, Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why The dark threads are as needful in the skillful weaver's hand As threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

~Benjamine Malachi Franklin

We had a call from Daniel...

this past week from his cell phone. They headed north at the beginning of the week after having obtained all the necessary travel visas in Pretoria. Daniel says he started to almost feel embarrassed at how often he was commenting on the spectacular natural beauty of the northern part of South Africa, especially the part around Pietersberg and the Magaliesberg mountains. This is the land of the massive baobab trees whose trunk widths match those of the giant sequoias of California. The strange looking boabab tree looks as if its been turned over with its roots up in the air. This is "Jock of the Bushveld" country with its giant ant heaps, some of which are as high fifteen feet.

          Later they crossed over the crocodile infested Limpopo river which forms the boundary between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Here the mood and vegetation change to classic African savannah with mile upon mile of umbrella tree forest and massive dolerite bolder rocks, some as high as three story buildings. Pressing on past Lake Kyle and the Zimbabwe ruins, a large stone fort that dates to the time of Solomon. Was this perhaps the land of Ophir from which gold was sent to Mesopotamia and Israel?

          As Daniel and team approached Harare, they encountered a fatal accident in which two people had died and were still trapped inside a small truck after it had collided with a massive big truck. The Frontline Fellowship team were able to offer assistance to one involved in the accident and took them to Harare where they could receive help. They have been able to witness to that person and to a number of others as they move north.

          Later in the week, Daniel's truck with trailer crossed into Zambia at the Kariba Dam and spent the night camping next to Lake Kariba. The beauty again was stunning and interesting. A hippo calmly came browsing up to within 15 feet of them. A small crocodile kept a lazy watch on them, perched on a rock nearby.

          As a parent, one wonders how these young men are coping with just two changes of clothing each and their luggage paired down to the minimum - for two and a half months. Why? They had to cut down on their own stuff so that they could fit in more books and material for the folk in the Sudan.

          Please pray for a fruitful witness to all on their way north. Please pray that God will prepare the folk who receive the material to help build the new country of South Sudan in a manner that pleases God. There is also the need of those Christians in the four or five provinces that could not hold independence elections because of the ongoing violence against them from the radical Islamists in the north.

Thanks for your ongoing prayers for the team.

Richard & Margie de Villiers

Pressing onwards and upwards in His strength

3 hours in, we experienced the first
of 2 trailer punctures, not realizing
the tire had blown, therefore riding
11 k's on the rim & hub

          This last Tuesday, the team launched on our South Sudan mission. Finances weren't all in place, but we felt God calling us to go. Then once we were about 4 hours out, we got a call that the finances had just arrived in to fully support the 1 vehicle going. What an answer to prayer! The Lord has shown us again and again His sovereignty throughout, His perfect plan, forcing us more and more to become dependent of His holy calling and timing, and showing us our severe inadequacy and dire need for Him!

          We've had to get our visas and documents sorted out in Pretoria, and as such have been stationed here for a couple days before continuing north. The car ride has again provided extremely good time to read, think and pray; and i was recently able to download a good audio file of the ESV New Testament which is ideal for the car as the bumps on the road make things a little more difficult to read. We've also been listening to some of Ravi Zacharias's sermons, so full of good material!

          One thing I've been struggling through, especially within the last few days, is preparing to preach to the people God puts us in contact with on this trip. I feel so inadequate when I think, for instance in preaching about suffering, how much more they already have a grasp of maintaining joy throughout heavy persecution, something I would still greatly struggle with and haven't experienced nearly to the extent they have. I feel that there is still so very much to learn and apply to my own life before I can even think of talking to others about some of those issues. But at the same time, I then feel convicted that I have become like Moses, reluctant to follow God's calling to go, creating lots of excuses as to why I am not fit. Please pray that throughout this entire trip, I would be able to answer God's calling to go, in a way that i remain of broken and humbled spirit. I become so prideful so fast; so please pray that God would continue to keep me in a position where i can learn more about Him each day, never putting myself in a position above those I minister to, judging myself by judging them. Pray for wisdom for the team, that the Lord would guide our words and use us as vessels to carry the message He wills; and may His Glory dwell in our land!

Every Man's Bridge

Something that came to mind the other night:

          If a man was made to build a bridge with a supply of whatever he wanted, he would have little problem at all in putting something down to fill the gap at hand. But in giving this same man a specific list of tools and limited materials, he would have to seek out much more carefully how to go about covering the spans with even any structure at all. In the first scenario, that bridge would crumble easily, not having been well thought or laid out, as the man sought to fill the gap perhaps with the cheapest materials, perhaps with what made the bridge look the most appealing, not working as toward a sound structure. But with the materials having been limited as in the second scenario, that man needs much planning in order for that bridge to even reach the other side. If he incorporates materials which he was not allowed now to use, materials of lesser quality, to simply fill the expanse or even merely to boast to others on his completion of a bridge to gain their respect and admiration; he jeopardizes the bridges stability, leading to the collapse of that bridge and in turn to the death of whoever uses it. He must use only the right materials, ones of strong, lasting and sound property. However this is not enough to complete a sound bridge. If he uses any material out of place, putting it where it should not be, and where another needs to function, he again jeopardizes the bridge. resulting in another downfall.

          We far too oft try to build our bridges with materials the world offers, giving in to Satan's temptations which pull us away from the sturdy structure of a life based purely on God's Word. We use inappropriate humor, negative attitudes, the gossip and mocking of others, apathy, and conformation to those materials of the world to finish the bridge, complete the path ahead, and get across to those around us; while we are told so clearly and strongly NOT to conform to this world. We must seek perfection and holiness ALONE to finish our task. For a bridge built on anything but Truth, even in just a small portion, is unstable and leads to death. And notice that as that man crosses the bride comprised of decisions and actions he makes, he is not the only one who dies; but also anyone who then walks that same bridge, who he has influenced on the building.

          Now the usage of right materials in itself is not what brings about a perfect bridge, in fact some of the most dangerous and deceptive bridges are built using correct materials, because it has all the right parts for being a supportive bridge and so deceives one crossing it who doesn't examine the placement of those parts; but perfection is a result of those tools and materials being used in their correct and intended use. Just as a cable cannot be replaced by the tar, or a beam with bolts, so too each part of Scripture must be used according to its intended purpose, not taken out of context or perhaps cut out and fit into another opening which looks prettier. In addition.we cannot just leave a part out of the bridge because if a piece is called for in a particular area and we omit it, not feeling like using it then or having the time and energy to include it, that bridge also is unstable. So too we must not only know the right materials to use, or even where and how to use them; because even if such is the case, an omission to follow through an use it has the same result as replacing that piece, that action, that calling, with something unsound and unstable.

          We must rightly divide the Word of Truth, lest we misuse it as Satan also misused it in his tempting of Jesus in the wilderness; which, if it had been heeded to and carried out, it would have brought forth death. We cannot play around with sin. It is not something to be taken lightly. The consequences for sin is far greater than the physical consequences and repercussions we face, for a spiritual death is immeasurably greater than physical death or even suffering. God calls us to holiness, to the use of the finest, most perfect and precious materials; not merely at an external glance, or even in our actions, but in our motives also! Just because we have done something considered good, by no means clears vile motives. May we seek God's plan for our lives. May we be willing to give up any pieces in our lives which will destroy a bridge. May we stick to the straight and narrow path, not straying to the right or to the left. May we find joy in the blessing of being persecuted for righteousness. And may our holy God mold us each coming moment to becoming the vessel he has intended us to be.